Box for transporting bottles



March 19, 1935. J. A. HOPWOOD 0 BOX FOR TRANSPORTI'NG BOTTLES v FiledMarch 31, 19.33 Sheets-Sheet 1 15" z a it INV EN TOR.

7 WWW March 19, 1935. J. A. HoPwon Box FOR TRANSPORTING BOTTLES 4Sheats-Shee't '2 Filed Mamh 31, 1953 INVENTOR. dofirz A. Hopzdam March19, 1935. J. A. HOPWOOD BOX FOR TRANSPORTING BOTTLES Filed March 31,1953 4 Shets-Sheet '3 IN VENTOR.

(/0617 A. 166% BY t ATTORNEY.

J. A. HOPWOOD BOX FOR TRANSPORT ING BOTTLES March 19, 1935.

Filed Ma rch 31, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 mm A 3 o ATTORNEY.

Patented Mar. 19, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BOX FOR .TRANSPORTINGBOTTLES v John A. Hopwood, Great Neck, N. Y.

Application March 31, 1933, Serial No. 663,789

' 3 Claims. (01.217

This invention is a box for transporting bottles, and while adapted forgeneral application, is particularly intended for use in connection withbottles of milk.

Boxes for this purpose are generally constructed entirely from wood withwooden bottoms and the interior of such boxes have been divided bywooden partitions into a plurality of compartments, each of a size tohold one hottle. This arrangement serves to preclude the bottles fromstriking one another and to maintain them in upright positions. Woodenboxes for this purpose have not been satisfactory for several reasons."This is particularly true of boxes having wooden bottoms and woodenspacers forming the compartments. The Wood becomes water-soaked andunsanitary after a time, and the bottom of thebox is apt to breakwithout warning and spill the contents.

It has been heretofore suggested to provide milk bottle boxes with slator skeletonizedbottoms, sometimes made of wood and sometimes made ofmetal, and to employ stamped sheet metal spacers within boxes of thiskind. These latter constructions have constituted marked improvements onthe old wooden box, but are open to numerous disadvantages. For example,milk bottles are generally delivered in the early morning, while peopleare asleep, and it is in the interest of considerate service to makethese deliveriesas' quietly as possible.

Where the metal or part metal boxes have been employed, they have beennoisy for, as

the bottles are positioned inor removed from the boxes, sharp metallicsounds'result' which will invariably awaken a light sleeper. Furthermorein the use of metallic parts as described, the weight'of the'box ismaterially increased.

My study and observationhas convinced me that a box to be satisfactoryfor the use stated must conform to several rigid requirements. It

must be absolutely sanitary for the reason that milk is easilycontaminated. It must. be sufficiently strong to support thebottledgoods. Itv

must at the same time 'be relatively light, so as not to seriously addto the Weight of the goods when manually handled, and it must be of suchcharacter that it. any particular part of the box is broken, the box maybe readily dismantled to permit a new part to be supplied therefor.

In the box as heretofore made the breaking of any part necessitatedcutting awaycf the broken part in such manner as to render the fasteningdevices unfit for further use. This practice has made it more economicalto discard a broken box than to repairthe same.

The object of the present invention is to provide a box for transportingbottled goods which will be free from the objectionshereinbeforereferred to and which will at the same time be susceptibleto repair of the broken parts without damage to the parts which remainintact and to permit of this repair in a simple, efficient andeconomical manner.

Speaking generally, the box of the present invention embodies fourwalls, two of iwhich'constitute the sides and the other two of whichconstitute the ends of the box. In the preferred embodiment of theinvention, the walls are formed from a plurality of bars positionededge"to edge in spaced apart relation and therespective bars are jointed atthe-corners of the boxto have a strong rugged 'interfitting relation.The box is made in effect of a series of courses positioned one abovethe other in spaced apartrelation and these several courses are securedto one another by tie bolts positioned at the corners of the box andservingnot only to unite the several courses, but also to lock thejoints tightly together to produce a rigidconstruction. To reinforce thecorners and to maintain'these corners square at all times, I employ anovel binding member which serves to house the joints at the corners andalso form rigidangl'es having the additional function of protecting theupper and lower edges of the box. These comermernbers are made of suchcharacter that they are individually removable and serve to collectivelyreinforce all four corners of the boxand also serve as a protectingcovering for the entire upper and lower edges of the box.

While the preferred form of the invention con' templates the use ofwooden bars arranged in spaced apart courses, I may, if desired, makethe walls of solid lumber jointing them in the novel manner hereafterdescribed to produce a; structure of unusual rigidity and strength.

The compartments are formed within the box by means of bolts extendingin proper spaced apart relation longitudinally and transversely ofthe-box and those portions of the bolts which are within the confines ofthe box are enclosed within tubular envelopes of a sound'deadeningmaterial of such character as to cushion the glass of the bottlesagainst breakage and at the same time support the said bottles inupstanding posi tions. The weight of the bottles is supported frombeneath by parallel rods extending longitudinally of the box which rodsare in'the form ferred form of the present invention.

. interior thereof. 1

of bolts, also provided with tubular envelopes of cushioning material,so as to deaden the sound and. protect the bottles against breakage.

The bolts which form the compartment are preferably bound together wherethey cross one another by members which are preferably of a softyielding nature. These members have the dual function of cushioningbottles supported in the compartments and of permitting the packing ofice about the necks of the bottles. If these members were not employed,there would be a marked tendency of the ice to fall throughthe bottom ofthe box, but with these members, the

ice is supported in a condition to keep the milk cool, as hereinaftermore fully described.

The resulting structure is one of great strength and yet it isrelatively light as the supporting and spacing means are relativelylight rods, a

greater portion of the weight being in the body of the box where thegreatest strength is required to Withstand rough usage. a

An important practical advantage of a bo constructed as specified isthat any particular part of the box, which becomes broken or distorted,may be removed for the substitution of a new part and practically everyelement enteringinto the construction serves to reinforce or strengthensome other element of the construction.

A further important practical feature of the invention resides in thefact that the box of the present invention may be economicallymanufactured and readily lends itself to quantity. production.

Features of the invention, other than those adverted to, will beapparent from the hereinafter detailed description and claims, when readin conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

The accompanying drawings illustrate one practical embodiment of theinvention, but the construction therein shown is to be understood asillustrative, only, and not as defining the limits of the invention.

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the pre- In this view, one cornermember of the. box is shown removed Figure 2 is a' perspective view ofthe corner member-which has'been removed from the structure of Fig. 1. Y

Figure 3 shows the manner of making said corner. member.

Figure 4 is a section through one corner joint of the box.

Figure 5 is a transverse section through the.

box of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a longitudinal section through said box. I

Figure 7 shows the bolts forming one compartment with associated crossties in plan.

Figure 8 is a perspective. view showing the manner in which the ties areassociated with said bolts.

Figure 9 is a perspective view showing a modified form of the presentinvention in completed form. r

Figure 10 is a similar view, showing certain hardware omitted and aportion of the wall of the box broken away to more clearly show theFigure 11 is a Figure 9. v 1

Figure 12 is a like longitudinal section.

Figure 13 isa perspective detail showing .a joincry at one corner of thebox of Figure 9.

transverse section of the box of Figure 14 is a fragmental detail of onecorner of said box showing the manner of attaching the hardware thereto.7 I

Figure 15 is a perspective view of a corner enclosing and reinforcingmember used on box of Figure 9.

' Figure 16 is a sectional detail of bolt construction in the boxes ofthe several figures.

The box of the present invention is rectangular in form and embodies twoside wallsl and 2 and two end walls 3 and 4. All of these walls are,

formed from wooden bars of rectangular cross section. In fact, the boxis made up of a series of rectangular courses, arranged in superim posedrelation. The top and bottom courses are of somewhat thickerstock thanthe intermediate courses, so as to give maximumstrength at the top andbottom while the decreased thickness .of the bars in the intermediatecourses is to minimize in weight of the finished box. The bars of theside walls and the bars of the end walls of the respective courses arejointed together in open sided mortise'and tenon joints,

the side bars being provided with tenons5, while the cooperating endbars are provided with open ended mortises 6. V

The several courses are vertically spaced apart by means of spacers 7,which areperforated and the joints of. the several coursesare providedwith vertically alined holes, so that a tie bolt 8 may be passedthroughthe several joints and spacers in succession with the head countersunkinto the uppermost bar and a nut countersunk into the lowermost bar, asshownin Figure. 4.

By tightening this nut, all of the joints may be forced tightly togetherto secure the side and end bars of each course to one another and tosecure the courses rigidly together in superimposed relation. When a boxis constructed of bars made 4n from hard wood, such as ash, maple orthe'like,

and is fabricated in the'manner described, anv

unusually strong and rigid construction will resuit and this structurewill not be of excessive weight. The binding of the elements to oneanother, as specified, precludes their breakage un-" derall strains'towhich they will ordinarily bev subjected andproduces a structureofmaximum strength.

Each corner of the box member, shown in detail in Figures? and 3. All ofthese members are the same, so that the description of one will sufiicefor all. Apiece of angle iron 9 of appropriate length is provided at itsopposite; ends with medial slits 10 equal in depth to substantially halfthelength of the box to divide each ,end of the strip into two tongues11 and 12. '-I,'he length of the tongues 11 is equal to half the lengthof the box and the tongues 15 are cut so thatthe length of each isequalto one half the width of the box. Thedistance between the adjacent endsof the cuts 10 is equal to the height of the box.

After the angle iron has been slitjas described, the respective tongues11 and 12 are bent into angular relation to the remainder of the strip}structure is adapted to be associated with each' corner of the box withscrews through the per-- forations of the respective tonguesto securethe member to the box. The unslit portion offth'e is adapted to beprovided with a corner enclosing and reinforcing angle iron strip willcover andconceal the corner joint of the box, while the tongues whenattached to the upper and lower edges of the box by screws, as stated,will form strong corner angles adapted to maintain the box square and atthe same time will function as wearing plates to protect the upper andlower surfaces of the wooden walls.

In Figure 1, three corners of the box are shown as provided with theangle iron members described, while the angle'iron is removed from thefourth corner and shown in Figure 2. In Figure 4, the metallic cornermember is omitted in the interest of clearness. The end walls 3 and 4 ofthe box are provided with cut cuts 13 forming hand holes in order thatthe box may be conveniently picked up for manual transportation.

The box is divided interiorly into compartments for individual bottlesby means of'a plurality of tie bolts which willhereinafter be termedcompartment bolts. Any appropriate number of these boltslr'nay be useddepending upon the number of compartments desired. For the purpose ofillustration, however, I have shown a box adapted to contain one dozenmilk bottles and some of these bottles are indicated in Figures 5 and 6of the drawings and bear the reference character 14.

Compartments for twelve bottles may readily be provided through the useof ten compartment bolts, six of which extend transversely of the boxand four longitudinally thereof. The longitudinal compartment bolts aredesignated 15, while the transverse compartment boltsare designated 16.The longitudinal bolts are arranged in upper and-lower courses of twoeach, while the transverse bolts are arranged in upper and lowercourses, of three'each, with the respective bolts of the upper and lowercourses vertically juxtaposed, so asto divide the interior of the boxinto twelve compartments of equal size.

All of these bolts are of the same structure and are attached to thewalls of the box in the same way. That is to say, each bolt extendsacross the confines of the box and passes'through an 'aper ture in'theopposite walls. These apertures are exteriorly countersunk or recessed,so that the head of the bolt is received in the countersink of one wall,while the end of the bolt is received in the countersink of the otherwall. The exterior surfaces of the box are thus flush with no projectingbolts or bolt heads.

' The bottom of the box is open, but the bottles contained in theseveral compartments are supported on tie bolts 17, which I willhereinafter term supporting bolts. These supportingb'olts extendlongitudinally'cf the box and are arranged in pairs, there being twosupporting bolts beneath each compartment. They are in structure andmode of attachment to the ends of the walls,

the same'as the compartment bolts. The apertures in the wall arecountersunk or recessed to receive the nuts and bolt heads. Supportingbolts 17 carry in effect the entire weight of the contents of the boxand they may be reinforced or in turn supported by one or moretransverse metallic bars 18, one of which is indicated in Figure 6, asextending transversely of the box with its opposite ends received incomplementary shaped pockets or mortises in the side walls 1 and 12; Thebar 18 is set on end and perforated envelope of sound deadeningmaterial.

structed as described for transporting bottles, but for reasonshereinbefore stated, it is highlydesirable that the transportation ofsuch bottles be as quiet as possible. Consequently in accordance withthe present invention, both the compartment bolts 15 and 16 and thesupporting bolts 17 are each provided with a sleeve or Either rubbertubing or tubing of any other suitable sort, such as composition orvulcanized fibre may be employed for this purpose. The tubing is adaptedto fit the bolts tightly at all parts thereof exposed to the innerconfines of the box and aside from cushioning the parts against noise,

they serve the further important function of protecting the rods againstundue wear and preclude the contact of any rust which might accumulatethereon with the bottles contained in the box-. As a matter of fact, ifthese envelopes or tubes are fitted tightly to the bolts, they willeffectually protect the same against rusting.

Where the compartment bolts across one another, I prefer to anchor themtogether. This anchorage may be accomplished in any suitable way and insome cases I employ metallic connections. invention, the compartmentbolts are secured together where they cross by means of rubber ringsindicated at 19 in Figures 7 and 8. These rings are so arranged thatthey extend over'bolts running in one direction and under bolts runningin'the opposite direction. They not only serve to bind the boltstogether so as to preclude noise, but they are preferably madesufficiently large to extend into contact with the bottles as indicatedin Figure 7. They thus facilitate the centralizing of the bottles, sothat they will not rattle and also serve the additional importantfunction that when cracked ice is packed about the bottles the members19 Will preclude the ice from falling through form baffles or shelvesfor the ice to keep it in a proper cooperative relation with thebottles. The members 19 may be associated with either the upper or lowerbolts or both.

I'wish to call attention to the fact that the compartment bolts, as wellas the supporting bolts, are all threaded structures with nuts adaptedfor minute adjustment. Consequently, it is possible and entirelypractical in the manufacture of boxes of this kind toplace all of thesebolts under substantially uniform tension.

It is particularly desirable that all bolts which extend in the samedirection be of very nearly the same tension. With the bolt arrangementas described, this is entirely feasible and practical and whenaccomplished, no one bolt exerts a greater pull on any particular wallthan any other bolt. Consequently, no particular rod is placed under anygreater strain than any other rod. This is highly important from apractical standpoint and should not be underestimated. For

possible to rivet theserods under uniform ten-.

sion, consequently the rod under the greatest tension would be carryingall the stress until it became strained, whereupon the rod having thenext greater tension would then carry the greater portion of the stressand so on until the whole structure became strained or weakened.

With the present construction, however, where all of the parts aretightened to equally carry the load, the straining of any particularpart is However, in the preferred form of thenegligible.- Consequently,the parts are better able to carryout their intended functions andoperate with maximum efiiciency at-all times.

-Another vitally important factor fromaa come mercial standpoint is thatthe parts of this box can bereadily dismantled without breaking ordamaging any part. For example, if any of the"- bars become broken, themetalliccorner pieces can be removed by removing a few screws and thenthe particular bar which has been broken can be readily released byremoving the two cooperating corner bolts 8 in order to permit theinsertion of a new bar. Practically all partsof the structure can bechanged asmay be required or fitted with new parts without damaging, anyother part and permitting the use of every other unbroken part. 7 Thisis a distinctively novel feature in this art.

Breakage of boxes of the character under consideration is enormous andconstitutes an appreciable expense factor in the carrying on of the milkbusiness. Most of the boxes, heretofore used, have not been susceptibleto ready repair and in the more elaborate and expensive boxes, if anyone part is broken, it is necessary to disrupt and damage several otherparts which thereupon require replacement. According to the presentinvention, as will be apparent, the breakage of any part necessitatesonly the replacement of that one part and this replacement can beaccomplished without complicated tools ormachinery, but by the usemerely of a wrench and a screw driver. In the ioregoing detaileddescription, I have set forth the preferred form of any invention inconnection with a box having walls formed by bars spaced apart. Manyfeatures of this invention may, however, be incorporated in a box.

having sides of solid lumber. For a construction of ahighly satisfactorystructure of the latter holes 105. All of thewalls are-made of solidlumand 104 are provided with tongues 106 interfit ting between tongues107 formed in the side walls. The tongues 106 are of a reverse dove-tailform and the openings 108 in the sides in which they are received are ofcomplementary shape, so that Wh enthe ends are drawntoward one another,the tongues 106 wedge tightly into the openings 108.

The four walls of the box are held together primarily by means of staybolts 109 and 110 and which extend for the full length .of the boxthrough channels 11 formed on the inner faces of the side walls 101 and102, so as not to project into the interior confines of the box. Thesaid staybolts pass through holes 112 and 113 in the tongues 106, theouter portions of the holes being countersunk or recessed. One end ofeach stay bolt is provided with a suitable head, while the other endisthreaded to receive a nut. When the said bolts are tightened, they serveto drawthe end walls 103' and 104 toward one another and pull thetongues 106 of the corner joints into tight wedging engagement with thetapered openings into which they fit, thereby producing an un' usuallyrigid construction. Inasmuch as the holes in the tongues 1.06 arecountersunk, as stated, .the

staybolts do not project beyond the exterior con tour of the box and donot: therefore constitute. undesirable projections.

The sides 101 and 102 :of

channels in the inner faces ofthe end walls:.103

and 104- and extend through openings'11'6, and I 117 in the upper andlower tongues-10f the side walls which are recessedor. countersunk. The

latter stay bolts draw the sides togetheragainst the ends walls, of thebox and arethe same struc turally as the bolts 109 and 110.

When the sides and ends of theboxare secured togetherthrough a jointofthe character specified and locked in place, by. the stay bolts asstated,

an unusually strong and rigid structure results,

and one well adapted to withstand the; hard usage which boxes of thischaracter receive. The corners of the box are provided withenclosing'and' notched as shown at 121 in Figure 13, and one,re-.:inforcing memberl18 is positioned over each cor-.-

ner ofthe box with the end'fianges 119:.seated in the recesses .121.

the box are drawn toward one another by means .of, stay bolts 114 and115. These stay bolts pass through This structure provides a binding forthe joint at thecorner of :the box 7 and protects the same againstdamage by; impact. g. In addition to the the top and bottom edges'ofeach of. the end walls 103 andlfitand are fastenedthereto'by screws 123,the end screws 123' of which pass downwardlyv through the perforations120- in the corner re-i inforcing members 118 and serve to hold saidmembers in place. s

corner protection described, heavy sheet metal straps; 122 areplacedacross 3 By this arrangement, the box is not only protectedagainst impact and Wear,'to whichlit may be subjected in ordinaryhandling, but isalso well adapted to travel on conveyors and similarhane dl-ing apparatusused'in connection with boxes of this kind.

The interior of, the box-is partrnents in the same manner as the ofFigures 1-8,-the compartment'bolts being desigei nated 124 and 125,respectively, and the support? ing bolts being designated .126."Ihesupporting; bolts pass through aninterm'ediate' supporting bar 127,as shown inFigures 10, 11 and 12. Furs thermore, the several supportingbolts. and compartment bolts'are provided witha cushioning divided. intoin;

envelope of tubular form as in the preferred-com:- struction and-asillustrated in Figure l6 and' where;

the compartment bolts cross they'are pound to'-' gether by tie members128, shownas wire'clips.

These clips will hold the parts firmlytogether,

but,if desired, there maybe employed in' addi-. tion the tie and iceretaining members shown inf Figures 7 and 8.

The box of this modified'form of construction is so constituted that inthe event any part is broken or requires'replacement, it can readily be.

taken apart and a newpart substitutedusing all of the other parts of thestructure'which remain break any part or render it useless during repairof the box.

Furthermore, in this construction, all of the bolts may be adjusted toplace all parts of the box under substantially the same tension, so thatno particular part is under a greater stress or strain than any otherpart of the structure.

Another important factor of this construction is that practically everypart which enters into the structure serves to strengthen and reinforcesome. other element of the structure.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is: a

1. A box for transporting bottled goods embodying a rectangular bodyhaving opposite side walls and opposite end walls, a plurality ofcompartment bolts extending longitudinally and transversely across theinterior of the box and through the walls thereof to divide the interiorof the box into a plurality of compartments for individual bottles, saidbolts having threaded shanks with associated nuts to permit of theadjustment of said bolts to substantially uniform tension, envelopes ofsound deadening material encasing said bolts within the box to precludedirect contact between the bottles and the bolts, means at the bottom ofsaid compartments to support bottles contained in the compartments, andresilient cushioning filler members secured to the compartment boltswhere they cross one another to retain ice about the necks of thebottles and preclude said ice from falling through the bottom of thebox.

2. A box for transporting bottled goods embodying a plurality ofrectangular frames positioned in superimposed spaced apart relation,each of said frames comprising side and end bars mortised to one anotherat their ends to form the four corners of the box, longitudinallyadjustable bolts passing successively through the several superimposedcourses adjacent the four corners of the box for securing said coursestogether and for securing said courses in definite superimposedrelation, an angular binding strip overlying each corner of the box tocover and conceal the same with each binding strip provided at each ofits top and bottom ends with two relatively rigid tongues positioned inright angular relation to one another and overlying and secured to theupper and lower edges of the box to protect said edges against wear andkeep the box square, with the exposed faces of the tongues at each ofthe top and bottom edges of the box occupying a common plane to provideflush, flat edges at both the top and bottom of the box, a plurality oflongitudinally adjustable compartment bolts extending across theinterior of the box and through corresponding bars of the walls thereofto divide the interior of the box into a plurality of compartments, eachof said bolts having a threaded portion with a cooperating nut, theseveral nuts being adjustable to place all of the bolts undersubstantially the same tension to equalize stresses placed on the barsthereby, and means extending across the box near the bottom thereof forsupporting bottles positioned in said compartments.

3. A box for transporting bottled goods embodying a plurality ofrectangular frames p0sitioned in superimposed spaced apart relation,each of said frames comprising side and end bars mortised to one anotherat their ends to form the four corners of the box, the side and end barsof the. bottom and top courses being of thicker lumber than the bars ofthe intermediate courses to'impart maximum strength and rigidity at thetop and bottom of the box without appreciably increasing the weight ofthe box, longitudinally adjustable bolts passing successively throughthe several superimposed courses adjacent the four corners of the boxfor securing said courses together and for securing said courses indefinite superimposed relation, an angular binding strip overlying eachcorner of the box to cover and conceal the same with each binding stripprovided at each of its top and bottom ends with two relatively rigidtongues positioned in right angular relation to one another andoverlyingand secured to the upper and lower edges of the box to protect saidedges against wear and keep the box square, with the exposed faces ofthe tongues at each of the top and bottom edges of the box occupying acommon plane to provide flush, flat edges at both the top and bottom ofthe box, a plurality of longitudinally adjustable compartment boltsextending across the interior of the box and through corresponding barsof the walls thereof to divide the interior of the box into a pluralityof compartments, each of said bolts having a threaded portion with acooperating nut, the several nuts being adjustable to place all of thebolts under substantially the same tension to equalize stresses placedon the bars thereby, and means extending across the box near the bottomthereof for supporting bottles positioned in said compartments.

JOHN A. I-IOPWOOD.

